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Fertility & birth rates in Lesotho and Tonga

Updated on by Georank team

Lesotho has an annual birth rate of 24.1 births per 1,000 people, compared to 23.1 for Tonga. The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — the fertility rate, is 2.69 in Lesotho and 3.13 in Tonga — 16.1% difference.

1960 vs 2023, the fertility rate has decreased by -53.4% in Lesotho and by -53% in Tonga — in 1960, it was 5.78 and 6.65, respectively.

Birth rates facts compared:

  • Lesotho is ranked 56/196 by birth rate compared to 58/196 for Tonga.
  • The mean age for first-time mothers is 20.9 years in Lesotho, compared to 24.9 years in Tonga.
  • The mean age at childbearing (for all the births, not just the first) is 27.9 in Lesotho — it's 29.9 in Tonga.
  • Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 (adolescent birth rate or teenage mother rate) is 70.6 in Lesotho vs 24.8 in Tonga.
  • In Lesotho, 27.8% of the population is composed of women of reproductive age (15-49), compared to 25.6% in Tonga.
  • Excluding migration, the natural population change due to births and deaths from 2022 to 2023 was +1.35% in Lesotho and +1.67% in Tonga.

Birth rate data compared

Lesotho Tonga
Fertility rate 2.69 3.13
Birth rate 24.1 23.1
Birth rate rank 56/196 58/196
Age at first childbirth 20.9 years 24.9 years
Average age at childbearing 27.9 years 29.9 years
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 69.1 25.1
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 20-29 134.4 145
Annual births per 1,000 women ages 30+ 38.1 41.6
Female of reproductive age (15-49), share of population 27.8% 25.6%
Any modern method of contraceptive prevalence among married women ages 15-49 65.3% 25.2%
Share of births attended by skilled health staff 86.6% 98.3%
Maternal mortality per live birth 0.48% 0.07%
Neonatal mortality rate (before reaching 28 days of age) 2.87% 0.43%
Infant mortality rate (before reaching 1 year of age) 5.54% 0.8%
Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births 5.89% 0.99%
Population change due to births and deaths +31,115 +1,744
Natural population change rank 103/196 137/196
Natural population change rate +1.35% +1.67%
Population growth +1.12% -0.4%
Population growth rank 96/197 181/197
Life expectancy 58.2 years 73.2 years

Fertility rate in Lesotho vs Tonga chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in Lesotho was 2.69 children per woman in 2023, compared to 3.13 in Tonga in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check Lesotho vs Tonga population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Lesotho
Factual

UN forecast
Tonga
Factual

UN forecast

Births per woman

Year Fertility rate
Lesotho Tonga
1960 5.78 6.65
1961 5.79 6.61
1962 5.79 6.57
1963 5.78 6.52
1964 5.77 6.46
1965 5.77 6.41
1966 5.76 6.35
1967 5.75 6.29
1968 5.73 6.23
1969 5.7 6.17
1970 5.7 6.07
1971 5.7 5.96
1972 5.69 5.86
1973 5.69 5.8
1974 5.75 5.77
1975 5.83 5.75
1976 5.87 5.73
1977 5.85 5.7
1978 5.82 5.68
1979 5.79 5.65
1980 5.75 5.6
1981 5.69 5.55
1982 5.63 5.5
1983 5.56 5.45
1984 5.48 5.41
1985 5.4 5.34
1986 5.32 5.27
1987 5.22 5.19
1988 5.1 5.1
1989 4.96 5.01
1990 4.81 4.93
1991 4.68 4.85
1992 4.54 4.79
1993 4.37 4.73
1994 4.21 4.66
1995 4.13 4.56
1996 4.06 4.46
1997 3.98 4.38
1998 3.82 4.31
1999 3.67 4.23
2000 3.61 4.16
2001 3.63 4.13
2002 3.68 4.14
2003 3.62 4.18
2004 3.51 4.19
2005 3.43 4.2
2006 3.41 4.14
2007 3.44 4.09
2008 3.39 4.01
2009 3.31 3.95
2010 3.25 3.88
2011 3.34 3.83
2012 3.3 3.77
2013 3.28 3.7
2014 3.24 3.62
2015 3.22 3.54
2016 3.18 3.46
2017 3.11 3.39
2018 3.02 3.33
2019 2.92 3.27
2020 2.85 3.23
2021 2.77 3.2
2022 2.72 3.17
2023 2.69 3.13
2024 2.66 3.1
2025 2.64 3.07
2026 2.61 3.04
2027 2.58 3
2028 2.55 2.97
2029 2.53 2.95
2030 2.5 2.91
2031 2.47 2.89
2032 2.45 2.85
2033 2.43 2.82
2034 2.41 2.8
2035 2.38 2.77
2036 2.37 2.75
2037 2.34 2.72
2038 2.32 2.7
2039 2.3 2.68
2040 2.29 2.65
2041 2.27 2.63
2042 2.25 2.61
2043 2.24 2.59
2044 2.22 2.56
2045 2.21 2.54
2046 2.19 2.52
2047 2.18 2.5
2048 2.17 2.49
2049 2.16 2.47
2050 2.14 2.45

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Lesotho
Factual

UN forecast
Tonga
Factual

UN forecast
Year Share of people 0-14 years old
Lesotho Tonga
1960 45.1% 45.7%
1961 45.2% 45.7%
1962 45.3% 45.8%
1963 45.2% 45.9%
1964 44.9% 45.9%
1965 44.8% 45.9%
1966 44.9% 45.9%
1967 44.8% 46%
1968 44.4% 46.2%
1969 44% 46.3%
1970 43.6% 46.4%
1971 43.1% 46.4%
1972 42.7% 46.3%
1973 42.3% 46.2%
1974 41.9% 46.2%
1975 41.6% 46.2%
1976 41.4% 46.1%
1977 41.5% 45.8%
1978 41.7% 45.3%
1979 41.9% 44.8%
1980 42.1% 44.3%
1981 42.3% 43.9%
1982 42.5% 43.4%
1983 42.7% 42.9%
1984 42.8% 42.4%
1985 43% 42%
1986 42.7% 41.7%
1987 42.5% 41.5%
1988 42.7% 41.2%
1989 42.8% 40.9%
1990 42.9% 40.8%
1991 42.9% 40.6%
1992 42.8% 40.5%
1993 42.6% 40.3%
1994 42.3% 40.1%
1995 42% 39.9%
1996 41.7% 39.7%
1997 41.2% 39.3%
1998 40.7% 38.9%
1999 40.2% 38.6%
2000 39.6% 38.3%
2001 39.1% 38.2%
2002 38.6% 38.1%
2003 38.1% 38.1%
2004 37.7% 38.2%
2005 37.4% 38.3%
2006 37.1% 38.3%
2007 36.8% 38.3%
2008 36.7% 38%
2009 36.6% 37.8%
2010 36.5% 37.6%
2011 36.5% 37.4%
2012 36.5% 37.2%
2013 36.5% 37.1%
2014 36.6% 36.9%
2015 36.6% 36.7%
2016 36.6% 36.5%
2017 36.5% 36.4%
2018 36.3% 36.2%
2019 36.1% 36%
2020 35.8% 35.8%
2021 35.6% 35.7%
2022 35.3% 35.6%
2023 34.9% 35.6%
2024 34.5% 35.4%
2025 34.1% 34.9%
2026 33.6% 34.4%
2027 33.1% 33.8%
2028 32.6% 33.3%
2029 32% 32.6%
2030 31.5% 32%
2031 31% 31.6%
2032 30.5% 31.2%
2033 30.1% 31%
2034 29.7% 30.8%
2035 29.3% 30.7%
2036 29% 30.5%
2037 28.8% 30.4%
2038 28.5% 30.3%
2039 28.3% 30.2%
2040 28.1% 30.1%
2041 27.8% 30.1%
2042 27.6% 30%
2043 27.4% 30%
2044 27.1% 29.9%
2045 26.9% 29.8%
2046 26.7% 29.6%
2047 26.4% 29.5%
2048 26.2% 29.2%
2049 25.9% 29%
2050 25.7% 28.7%

Children aged 0-14 make up 34.5% of the population in Lesotho and 35.4% in Tonga in 2024, compared to 42.9% and 40.8% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of Lesotho and Tonga compared.

Natural population change in Lesotho vs Tonga by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +1.44% in Lesotho and +1.79% in Tonga. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Lesotho
Tonga

Natural population change

Year Population change due to births and deaths
Lesotho Tonga
1960 19,981 2,230
1961 20,581 2,284
1962 21,132 2,343
1963 21,585 2,394
1964 22,116 2,445
1965 22,755 2,498
1966 23,326 2,550
1967 23,911 2,603
1968 24,490 2,614
1969 25,137 2,632
1970 25,935 2,628
1971 26,838 2,611
1972 27,841 2,605
1973 28,859 2,617
1974 30,444 2,650
1975 32,311 2,709
1976 34,117 2,769
1977 35,654 2,822
1978 37,084 2,862
1979 38,440 2,884
1980 39,617 2,885
1981 40,808 2,882
1982 41,941 2,853
1983 42,899 2,840
1984 43,785 2,814
1985 44,575 2,762
1986 45,232 2,704
1987 47,718 2,646
1988 47,158 2,649
1989 46,264 2,644
1990 45,060 2,641
1991 44,026 2,637
1992 42,579 2,622
1993 40,505 2,594
1994 38,629 2,547
1995 37,370 2,476
1996 36,228 2,393
1997 34,637 2,332
1998 30,889 2,344
1999 27,393 2,352
2000 24,786 2,346
2001 23,190 2,358
2002 22,274 2,396
2003 20,133 2,448
2004 17,271 2,478
2005 15,831 2,495
2006 15,234 2,459
2007 17,763 2,423
2008 19,349 2,397
2009 20,335 2,358
2010 21,877 2,332
2011 25,647 2,298
2012 27,592 2,255
2013 29,789 2,199
2014 30,922 2,135
2015 32,087 2,064
2016 33,390 1,989
2017 33,601 1,912
2018 33,112 1,873
2019 32,279 1,841
2020 30,721 1,816
2021 27,806 1,773
2022 30,803 1,772
2023 31,115 1,744

Fertility rates around the globe

Fertility rate

Maternal mortality chart: Lesotho vs Tonga

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 478 deaths per 100,000 live births in Lesotho, compared to 67 deaths in Tonga.

Lesotho
Tonga
Year Maternal mortality per 100K births
Lesotho Tonga
1985 711 148
1986 680 149
1987 686 147
1988 680 145
1989 680 139
1990 665 138
1991 641 134
1992 601 129
1993 542 127
1994 423 123
1995 357 117
1996 319 113
1997 312 111
1998 332 104
1999 371 99
2000 413 100
2001 465 98
2002 484 98
2003 508 95
2004 499 92
2005 549 92
2006 696 89
2007 891 88
2008 1,205 88
2009 1,387 91
2010 1,311 85
2011 1,210 84
2012 1,000 83
2013 855 80
2014 707 80
2015 594 79
2016 518 78
2017 468 77
2018 491 74
2019 467 73
2020 529 74
2021 577 76
2022 477 72
2023 478 67

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 5.89% in Lesotho and 0.99% in Tonga. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Lesotho
Tonga

Probability that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five

Year Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
Lesotho Tonga
1960 18.6% -
1961 18.5% -
1962 18.5% -
1963 18.6% 7.83%
1964 18.6% 7.35%
1965 18.7% 6.89%
1966 18.6% 6.45%
1967 18.5% 6.03%
1968 18.3% 5.63%
1969 18% 5.25%
1970 17.7% 4.91%
1971 17.3% 4.61%
1972 16.9% 4.35%
1973 16.5% 4.11%
1974 16% 3.9%
1975 15.5% 3.71%
1976 14.9% 3.53%
1977 14.2% 3.37%
1978 13.6% 3.22%
1979 12.9% 3.09%
1980 12.3% 2.97%
1981 11.7% 2.87%
1982 11.1% 2.78%
1983 10.6% 2.7%
1984 10.1% 2.63%
1985 9.72% 2.57%
1986 9.36% 2.51%
1987 9.06% 2.44%
1988 8.8% 2.37%
1989 8.6% 2.29%
1990 8.47% 2.21%
1991 8.43% 2.14%
1992 8.51% 2.06%
1993 8.73% 2%
1994 9.07% 1.94%
1995 9.45% 1.89%
1996 9.83% 1.85%
1997 10.2% 1.81%
1998 10.5% 1.78%
1999 10.7% 1.74%
2000 10.9% 1.7%
2001 11.1% 1.65%
2002 11.2% 1.61%
2003 11.4% 1.56%
2004 11.5% 1.52%
2005 11.6% 1.48%
2006 11.5% 1.44%
2007 11.2% 1.41%
2008 10.9% 1.37%
2009 9.64% 1.34%
2010 9.01% 1.31%
2011 8.59% 1.29%
2012 8.26% 1.26%
2013 8.02% 1.24%
2014 7.82% 1.22%
2015 7.51% 1.19%
2016 7.18% 1.17%
2017 7.12% 1.15%
2018 6.91% 1.12%
2019 6.87% 1.1%
2020 6.68% 1.08%
2021 6.44% 1.05%
2022 6.15% 1.02%
2023 5.89% 0.99%

Compare countries by 7 more topics

Birth rate comparisons

Birth rate vs Lesotho vs Tonga
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